Should you clean your old coins? Royal Mint's advice

Plenty of coins sell for a small fortune in the UK each week with a variety of designs making them appealing to collectors.
It's no surprise that over time, coins start to look older and less shiny but should you clean them? Here's what the Royal Mint advises when it comes to cleaning coins.
Should you clean your old coins?
The Royal Mint explained coins that age are often said to be 'tarnishing, discolouring' or 'toning' but that this is 'a natural process'.
It said: 'It is a natural process, although the speed at which it progresses depends largely on the environment in which the coins are kept. In most instances, it is a very slow process and the natural patina which develops is considered by many to enhance the beauty of the coins.'
Tarnish shouldn't be removed from coins, the Royal Mint explains: 'The tarnish on a coin is made up of the product of the corrosive element in the atmosphere and the metal from the coin surface.
'If the tarnish were to be removed, the coin surface might become pitted and very unattractive after cleaning - therefore we do not recommend cleaning.'
The Royal Mint explained that while newer coins 'are less likely to tarnish', it's not guaranteed that they won't tarnish at all.
The items you should collect to make the most money
It said: 'Obviously, over the years The Royal Mint has continually improved the production process for proof coins and therefore, our more recent products are less likely to tarnish.
'However that is not to say that the newer products will not tarnish; as indicated, this is a natural process.'
Recommended reading:
Royal Mint's top 10 most valuable 50p coins
Here is a list of the top 10 most valuable 50p coins, when they were made, and how many were minted:
Atlantic Salmon (2023), 200,000 Kew Gardens (2009), 210,000 Olympic Wrestling (2011), 1,129,500 Olympic Football (2011), 1,161,500 Olympic Judo (2011), 1,161,500 Olympic Triathlon (2011), 1,163,500 Peter Rabbit (2018), 1,400,000 Flopsy Bunny (2018), 1,400,000 Olympic Tennis (2011), 1,454,000 Olympic Goalball (2011), 1,615,500
Have you seen one of these valuable coins? Let us know in the comments.

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

BBC News

10 hours ago

• BBC News

Wakehurst Mansion to reopen after roof restoration

An Elizabethan mansion in West Sussex is to reopen with new exhibition spaces after being closed for a two-year roof billiard room and the chapel at Wakehurst Mansion will host exhibitions, while the library will offer visitors a "tranquil retreat" and "contemplative environment", Wakehurst Mansion organisers said the displays told the story of Wakehurst as a living laboratory in a historic landscape shaped by centuries of careful and innovative Mansion director, Susan Raikes, said: "We are proud to welcome visitors into a revitalised mansion that honours its past while embracing an exciting future." The billiard room will feature work exploring the transformation of the surrounding landscape, while the chapel will document Wakehurst's role in seed reopening coincides with the 25th anniversary of the Millennium Seed Bank and 60 years since the Royal Botanic Gardens, at Kew, began managing the Ikin, curator at the National Trust, which worked with Kew on the restoration, said: "This marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter at Wakehurst, with new displays exploring the rich history of the mansion and the people who've lived and worked there."The mansion reopens on 27 June.

Telegraph

5 days ago

• Telegraph

Henry V is much more important than Pride and Mr Men

Henry V was a man who was used to hardship, but seldom to losing. As a young prince, he learnt the arts of kingship and warfare battling Owain Glydwr's insurgency in Wales and a rebellion of the kingmaking Percy family. Shot through the face with an arrow at the battle of Shrewsbury in 1403, he survived a long and painful operation to save his life. Rebuffed by his sickly father, Henry IV, when he tried to seize the crown of England before his time, he had to regroup and prove his worth as heir. Henry's Agincourt campaign in 1415 came within a whisker of calamity more than once before he rallied his 'little blessed many' to victory over the more numerous and confident French. After Agincourt, Henry seemed to become unbeatable in the field and a master of political management, so that it was only dysentery that eventually got the better of him, killing him at the age of 35 in 1422. Now, though, Henry V has taken a rare loss: at the hands of the Royal Mint, whose advisory committee judged him a less 'significant figure in British history' than the collected cast of the Mr Men books. It was on these grounds that – according to a freedom of information request made by The Telegraph – Henry was passed over for a commemorative coin on the 600 th anniversary of his death in 2022. The Mr Men and the Pride movement got the coins, while Henry got nothing at all. If we were able to ask Henry for his feelings regarding this depressing snub, it is likely he would ascribe it to God's plan, and perhaps consider it just punishment for his sins. Even by late medieval standards, Henry was very devout, and he interpreted his setbacks and victories alike to the inscrutable wisdom of the Almighty. We in our less mystical age may regard this differently. It is of course up to the Royal Mint whose face(s) they stick on our coins. Henry had his day with his face on the silver penny in the fifteenth century. He has in that sense been ticked off the list. It is also possible that in 2022 the Mint, like many other public institutions, was in the grip of so severe a woke spasm that its 'subcommittee on the selection of themes' truly believed that public, emerging from the daze of Covid, would be most cheered to find a rainbow flag or the bandaged cranium of Mr Bump adorning the UK's currency, rather than a medieval monarch who managed to commit the quintuple whoopsie of being white, male, straight, militaristic and dead. It does seem odd, however, for the Mint to have described Henry as insignificant in the course of British history. The proposal to commemorate his death was rejected because the subcommittee thought marking his reign and death would be 'more a celebration of Shakespeare's view of this king' than of the man himself. Yet Shakespeare wrote a play about Henry V for good reason: because he was, by the standard of his day and for generations thereafter, considered to be the paragon and acme of kingship. It was not some rogue, hot take of Shakespeare's that Henry was 'this star of England', who won 'the world's best garden' [i.e. France], when he forced on King Charles VI the Treaty of Troyes – the 1420 agreement by which he secured his claim to the Valois crown. This was a matter of historical fact. The highest goal of the Hundred Years War, which defined England's relationship with half of Europe for more than a century, was to secure in English hands the crown of France. Henry made this dream a reality. He was comfortably the finest military leader of his age, as well as the most adroit domestic politician. He was a king possessed of the highest personal probity, chastity, piety and morality, in an age where those things still mattered. He was a winner, but not a boaster; a warrior but also a lover of literature and music. He made a greater contribution to the development of the English language than any king before or after him. He was not exactly fun – a French spy writing early in his reign got him right when he said that in person Henry seemed more like a monk than a king. But he was regarded, on his untimely death, as the man who had for nine years shown how kingship was supposed to be performed, according to the standards of the day. His achievements in France outlived him for 13 years, and although Henry is often blamed for having sown the seeds of the Wars of the Roses by overextending English military resources in France, that is really to condemn him for having been a hard act to follow. We today do not need to share every aspect of Henry's worldview or to wish that it had been our own hands that rained down the pitiless hammer blows which killed the prisoners at Agincourt to accept that by the standards of his time, this king was regarded as the best England ever had. 'Throughout his reign, Henry showed much magnanimity, valour, prudence and wisdom: a great sense of justice, judging the mighty as well as the small,' wrote a chronicler at the time of his death. He was feared and respected by all his relatives and subjects and even by those neighbours who were not his subjects. 'No prince of his time seemed more capable than him of subduing and conquering a country, by the wisdom of his government, by his prudence, and by all the other qualities with which he was endowed.' This was not the opinion of a jingoistic Englishman, but of a French monk writing at the royal abbey of Saint-Denis. Even by his enemies' standards, Henry V was a phenomenon. In the words of the brilliant twentieth century medievalist KB McFarlane, Henry was 'the greatest man who ever ruled England.' If that isn't historically significant, it is hard to understand what is.

Daily Mirror

14-06-2025

• Daily Mirror

Two 'old' UK pennies worth over £100,000 - how to spot them

Both of these coins are extremely rare making them highly sought-after An expert has urged Brits to keep an eye out for two coins that combined could be worth a life-changing amount. These pre-decimal pennies, dated 1919 and 1933, might fetch more than £101,000 to collectors. In both cases it is their rarity that makes these pieces so sought after. And while they are no longer in circulation, there is still a chance they could show up in an attic or old coin jar. ‌ Speaking in a video uploaded to social media platform TikTok, an expert known online as the Coin Collecting Wizard explained what to look for. ‌ He said: 'Who remembers these predecimal pennies? Check out these rare ones.' Firstly he described what is known as the 1919 KN penny. The expert said: 'The 1919 KN penny is a rare and highly sought after coin among collectors and one to definitely keep an eye out for.' Unlike most other penny coins of the era it features the initials 'KN' on its reverse side (tails side). This is because it was produced by the King's Norton Mint rather than the Royal Mint. He continued: 'Struck at the King's Norton Mint, hence the KN Mint Mark below the date, it was part of a limited batch produced when the Royal Mint outsourced some coin production after World War One. While not all 1919 pennies are rare, the KN variety is much harder to find, especially in high grades.' ‌ If you find this coin in great condition you could be able to sell it for more than £1,000. He said: 'In mint or uncirculated condition this penny can fetch well over £1,000 making it a valuable piece of British numismatic history. 'Its scarcity, historical context and distinctive mint mark all add to its appeal for collectors.' Next, he spoke about the infamous 1933 penny. It is highly unlikely that you would find one in your change as it is thought only seven were ever made. This occurred because there was no requirement for new pennies in that year. The coin features Britannia on its reverse and a depiction of George V on the obverse (head side). It could be worth an impressive £100,000 due to its rarity. He said: 'The 1933 penny, yeah you are not going to find this one as only seven are known to exist but if you did then you are looking at over £100,000.'